Obama Nominates Black Gay Man For Federal Judgeship

President Obama has decided to try and make history again by appointing the first openly gay, African American male federal judge in our nation's history. He had nominated William L. Thomas to be a federal judge just days after the 2012 presidential elections. Thomas is an openly gay, African American male judge. But the Thomas nomination was stalled when U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) blocked the nomination (despite the fact his office had explicitly supported the nomination previously). LGBT advocates were extremely disappointed by Sen. Rubio's actions and called attention to his record of anti-LGBT statements and behaviors.

Today the President decided to try again by nominating another openly gay Black man, Darrin Gayles to the same federal judgeship that Thomas had been blocked from by Senator Rubio.

Judge Darrin P. Gayles:  Nominee for the United States District Court for the Southern District of FloridaJudge Darrin P. Gayles has served as a Circuit Judge in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida since 2011.  From 2004 to 2011, he was a County Judge in the same Circuit.  From 1999 to 2004, Judge Gayles served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and from 1997 to 1999, he served as an Assistant District Counsel at the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service.  Judge Gayles began his legal career as an Assistant State Attorney in the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office from 1993 to 1997.  Judge Gayles received his J.D. in 1993 from George Washington University Law School and his B.A. in 1990 from Howard University.  

As we did with the Thomas nomination, we will be following the Gayles nomination very closely here at MadProfessah.com. Acording to Poliglot, Gayles name was on a list that Senator Rubio confirmed that he had no opposition to if they were nominated. In fact, Rubio's ffice even gave a statement to Metro Weekly, a D.C.-based LGBT newsmagazine about the Gayles nomination:

"I welcome today's four nominations to the district courts in Florida. As I previously indicated to the President, I do not anticipate having an objection to moving forward on any of these nominations pending the outcome of the customary background check conducted on every nominee," Rubio stated. "I am disappointed, however that given the opportunity to fill four vacancies on the court, the White House has declined to nominate any of the Republican finalists jointly suggested by Senator Nelson and myself." 

Happy Black History Month!

QUEER QUOTE: NGLTF Condemns Sen. Rubio's Blocking Of Black Gay Federal Judge

Things that make you go hmmm. Huffington Post has confirmed that President Barack Obama has given up on pushing for William Thomas to become the first ever black, openly gay federal judge in our nation's history. Thomas was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

MadProfessah has been following this curious story for quite some time. It has since became clear that U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) was the primary impediment to Judge Thomas making history but for reasons that have not been made public.

Huffington Post reported:

Rubio has been single-handedly blocking Thomas for months, despite recommending him to Obama in 2012 as a nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Rubio indicated in September he would not submit his "blue slip" to the Senate Judiciary Committee -- a courtesy, but not a hard rule, honored in the committee that allows a home-state senator to advance or hold up a nominee. Florida's other senator, Bill Nelson (D), submitted his blue slip months ago. 

[...] 

"Judge Thomas is a well-qualified jurist," Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) told HuffPost in the fall. "There is a serious underrepresentation of minorities on the bench and partisan obstructionism isn’t making it any better." 

Hastings is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, which has railed against Rubio for blocking black judicial nominees at a time when the group says black judges make up about 8.3 percent of the federal judicial bench. In addition to Thomas, Rubio had been withholding his blue slip for another black judicial nominee, Brian Davis. But Rubio ultimately agreed to move forward with Davis, who has since been confirmed. 

“I am upset and concerned. Senator Marco Rubio himself said that Judge Thomas had passed all the tests, and then all of sudden for Senator Rubio to say Judge Thomas is not suitable is just not right," Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) said Tuesday. "I don’t know what more I can do to make Senator Rubio understand that what he is doing is wrong.”

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force issued a statement condemning the actions by Sen. Rubio in killing the Thomas nomination:

"We need more diversity in the federal judiciary, not less and it's disappointing that Judge William Thomas was not included among the nominees the White House submitted to the Senate this week. Judge Thomas is an eminently qualified jurist and, if confirmed, would have been the first openly gay black male to serve on the federal bench. Senator Marco Rubio's procedural maneuvering to stop this nominee was unacceptable and harmful given that the vacancy on the Southern District Court of Florida has been classified as a judicial emergency. Senator Rubio's actions are in no way helpful to the people of Florida."

Hopefully President Barack Obama will not have difficulty finding another openly gay Black man who could be nominated to a federal judgeship. This is a historical first that I would like to see completed.

Sen. Rubio (R-FL) Blocks Black Gay Federal Judicial Nominee

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has proven repeatedly that he is not a friend to the LGBT community but this latest action takes things to a new level. Previously, Rubio had been thought to only be delaying his approval for U.S. district court nominee Bill Thomas but now comes word that Rubio is blocking President Obama's nomination of the very first openly gay, Black man to the federal judiciary, a historic first. Generally, both United States Senators have to agree on nominees for any federal judgeship in their state, and Thomas is nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

The Advocate reports that Rubio has withdrawn his support for the Thomas nomination:

Rubio, a Republican, announced Monday that he would no longer support the nomination of Miami-Dade circuit judge William Thomas to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, citing concerns about Thomas’s rulings in two criminal cases, The New York Times reports. Nominees for federal judgeships need the support of both U.S. senators from their home state in order for the confirmation process to continue. Florida’s other senator, Democrat Bill Nelson, has endorsed Thomas, who would be the nation’s first openly gay African-American federal judge. 

[...] 

Yolanda Strader, president of a Miami association for black lawyers, accused Rubio of playing politics with Thomas’s nomination. “As much as I would like to think that politics has nothing to do with this, it looks as if it does,” Strader told the Times. “It would be unfair to prevent a well-qualified judicial nominee from proceeding with the nomination process because he is an openly gay black male.” Her group is initiating a social media campaign in support of Thomas and may start an online petition to move his nomination forward.

This is pretty heartbreaking as it comes on the heels of the news that the United States Senate had unanimously approved the first openly gay man to a federal appellate judgeship on Tuesday. Hopefully President Obama will find another openly gay Black man to be nominated for a federal judgeship soon as he continues his campaign of diversifying the federal judiciary.

Hat/tip to The Advocate

Sen. Rubio (R-FL) Blocking Black Gay Federal Judicial Nominee

Here at MadProfessah.com we have been following the progress of President Obama's openly LGBT federal judicial nominees quite closely and were thrilled when the first African American gay male, Judge Wiliam Thomas, was nominated to be a federal district court judge in November 2012.

However recent blog reports have noted that Thomas has yet to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, in fact a hearing has not even been scheduled on his nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The invaluable Washington Blade reports:

Rubio’s office didn’t respond to repeated requests from the Blade over the past two weeks to comment on why he continues to hold up the Thomas nomination. According to a report last week in the Tampa Bay Times, Rubio has concerns about Thomas’s involvement in a controversial case in which a man was given a sentence of just 364 days in jail for the hit-and-run death of a cyclist.

[...]

Thomas has experience both as a defense attorney and as a judge. He’s been a circuit judge in Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit since 2005, where he has presided over both civil and criminal matters. Before that, he was an assistant federal public defender in the Southern District of Florida and represented indigent clients in federal criminal cases.

Rubio faced criticism last week from members of the Congressional Black Caucus for holding up both the Thomas confirmation and that of Brian Davis, another black judicial nominee who was nominated for a seat on the U.S. District Court for Middle District of Florida. The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund also called for the Thomas nomination to move forward.

Rubio continues to hold up the Thomas nomination even though he and [U.S. Senator Bill] Nelson recommended Thomas for the seat following approval from Florida’s Federal Judicial Nominating Commission, which makes recommendations to the state’s senators.

LGBT groups have begun to put more pressure on Rubio to explain the reason for his hold on the Thomas nomination. Let's hope that join with African American groups to call for Rubio's holds to be lifted on both Judge Thomas and Judge Davis in the near future.

Hat/tip to TowleRoad

Obama Picks Out Gay Black Male As Federal Judge

William L. Thomas

President Obama is continuing to make history with his judicial nominations. On Wednesday the White House announced that the President has selected Florida Circuit Court judge William L. Thomas to become a United States district court judge for the Southern District of Florida, the first openly gay, black male to receive such a prestigious nomination.

The first openly gay, Black female judge was nominated by President Bill Clinton way back in 1992. Her name is Deborah Batts and for decades she was the only openly LGBT members of the federal judiciary.

Here's his official biography from the White House announcement:

Judge William L. Thomas:  Nominee for the United States District Court for the Southern District of FloridaJudge William L. Thomas has served as a Circuit Judge in Florida’s Eleventh Judicial Circuit since 2005, where he has presided over both civil and criminal matters.  For seven years, from 1997 to 2005, he served as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Southern District of Florida, where he represented indigent clients in federal criminal cases.  Judge Thomas began his legal career as an Assistant Public Defender at the Miami-Dade County Public Defender’s Office in 1994.  He received his J.D. in 1994 from the Temple University School of Law and his B.A. in 1991 from Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania.

From his graduation in 1991 one could estimate the judge's age to be about 43 or 42 years old. Congratulations to Judge Thomas! (May his confirmation be quick and unanimous!)

Hat/tip to Chris Geidner.